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The Honourable Frances Lankin & Dr. Munir Sheikh
We'd like to hear from you
We'd like to hear from you

Message from the Commissioners

With the release of Discussion Paper 2: Approaches for Reform we are entering the second phase of our engagement process.

Our purpose with this paper is to seek your perspective on the different approaches to improving social assistance that we are considering based on what we heard and learned through our research. We hope you will take the time to send us your thoughts, which you can do through this website.

This paper advances the dialogue we began last June, when we asked for your ideas on how to solve the key issues facing the social assistance system. The response was tremendous, and we benefited greatly from the views of the more than 2000 individuals we heard from last summer during our community visits, as well as in the more than 700 submissions sent to us. We also benefited from our discussions with First Nations, learning that we need to think differently about social assistance in First Nations communities and always be mindful of their unique historical, legal and cultural context. We appreciate how many people took the time to share their views with us.

We have summarized the feedback we received in What We Heard: A Summary of Discussions on Social Assistance, also available on this site. We encourage you to read the summary as a companion to the second discussion paper.

It is clear to us that the system will require transformative change. Small fixes will not suffice, if we are to meet the goal of helping more people on a path to a better life.

We would like to receive your feedback on the approaches discussed in the paper by Friday, March 16. The input and advice we receive in response to Approaches for Reform will help frame our recommendations to the government in June.

Thank you for your commitment to improving social assistance. We look forward to hearing from you.

Frances Lankin                                             Munir A. Sheikh

 

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The Vision: A 21st century income security system that enables all Ontarians to live with dignity, participate in their communities, and contribute to a prospering economy.